Skeleton gives power back to auction houses and revolutionises the online bidding market
LONDON – 3 September 2019 – Barnebys, the leading search engine for art, design, antiques and collectibles, today announced the launch of Skeleton. The software caters to the specific needs of the traditionally supply-driven auction industry and aims to make the life of auctioneers easier.
Skeleton empowers small and mid-sized auction houses to retain their brand identity and makes online auctions simpler and more profitable. The white label software provides a bidding platform for auction houses that manages all aspects of the auction process from start to finish, including marketing, operations, customer bidding, invoicing and shipping.
Brand or corporate identity, which comprises elements such as design, logo and colours, is vital to make a business recognisable, trustworthy and successful. Yet, a lot of auction houses set themselves up for failure by leasing out their inventory to online publication platforms that take over their corporate identity.
Christopher Barnekow, CEO and co-founder of Barnebys, said: “Auctioneering under the name of a well-known publication platform might sound appealing at first sight. In terms of brand identity, however, it’s crucial for each auction house’s translations to take place on its own site.”
“More often than not, a brief stint of higher profitability that results from engaging with the top platforms quickly turns into a downward spiral of decline in the long run – think of it as gaining 15 minutes of fame versus nourishing a lifetime value,” Mr Barnekow added. “With Skeleton, auction houses have the possibility to increase their market share and improve their long-term competitiveness. They can finally take matters into their own hands.”
Unlike other online publication systems, Skeleton allows auction houses to run both online and live auctions on a personalised platform, while also supporting fixed-price sales. What’s more, the software gives auctioneers access to sales figures and their clients’ shopping habits. In a world where data and insights into client behaviour are key, Skeleton is prone to disrupt the auction industry.
Shaye Krispine, Director of Operations at Morphy Auctions, noted: “One of the main advantages of Skeleton is its flexibility. The software offers a variety of different features to choose from, so we can tailor it to our needs. That enabled us to standardise and streamline our processes, which helped reduce redundancies and increase our team efficiency.”
“Skeleton not only makes things like inventory control and accounting much easier, it also benefits our brand recognition and gives us the possibility to build lasting relationships with our customers,” Mr Krispine continued. “The software is a powerful tool and a real game changer in the auction industry.”